Turning Over A New Leaf
by Kimmytrainer
Summary: Ko x Aoba! Ko dreams of Wakaba right before their twentieth birthday. She mentions her gift, as well as her sister. "I want you two to be happy." Once again, Ko x Aoba! Dedicated to Asebi. Please REVIEW!


This story is dedicated to Asebi, who wished for more Ko x Aoba fanfics. I hope she likes it! And I hope you like it, too!

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"Ko," someone called. "Ko_ooo_."

The black haired teen looked up to see a nineteen-year-old Akane standing in front of him. She stood tall, her hands folded behind her. She watched him with a smile on her face, just like she did when they were kids.

Wait, this wasn't Akane.

Somehow, some_way_, he just knew it.

This was Wakaba.

Ko stared at the girl in front of him. She became slightly annoyed at his lack of response and called his name again.

"_Ko!"_ she exclaimed. "You're going to be late!"

Startled, Ko jerked his head.

"Wakaba?"

She smiled. "I'm glad you remember me."

Ko blinked. "How could I forget?"

Looking at his serious face, Wakaba frowned and looked away. "What if I said I wanted you to forget me?" she asked quietly. She looked up at him.

"I can't forget you," Ko said, frowning.

Wakaba smiled. "Good. Aoba needs you to remember."

"Aoba?"

"Yes, Ko. Did you forget? You're in love with Aoba." Ko's eyes widened. "And tomorrow's our twentieth birthday, right?"

Ko nodded. "Yeah."

Wakaba grinned. "Well, then. It's my final gift."

It was silent for a moment.

"Ko?"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to give it to Aoba, okay?"

Ko looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah."

Wakaba smiled again. "You'd better hurry. You're going to be late, you know."

"Late for what?" Ko asked, but she was already gone. "Wakaba? Wakaba!"

As Ko shot up in bed, sweat covering his face, he heard in the back of his head, _"Be there for her, Ko. I'm gone, but she needs you, and you need her."_

Ko breathed heavily, staring at his feet.

"_I want you two to be happy."_

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"Aoba," Ko said, looking at her from across the table. His hands rested on the cloth napkin in his lap while he glanced at the shiny silverware in front of him.

"Yeah?" Aoba replied. She was looking around, wondering why they were in such a fancy restaurant. There were red and gold curtains hanging from the windows, lights were dimmed, and there was classical music playing in the background. The white tablecloths covering each circular and square table looked ready to be covered with breadcrumbs or some rich sauce. The candles created shadows from the delicate flowers in the middle of the table. The scent of steak and other expensive dishes wafted around the room.

Aoba had never been to a restaurant this nice.

She wondered for a moment if Ko could afford a place like this. _"He's a baseball player who makes millions. Of course he can,"_ she thought. Of course, she also made quite a bit, being a baseball player herself. However, girl's baseball was not as popular, and therefore didn't pay quite as well. But it was still fun.

After she finished observing the room, she looked back to her boyfriend. He still hadn't said anything, which was odd. "What is it?" she asked.

Ko frowned. He had changed his mind. "Would you mind going somewhere with me after this?"

She tilted her head, confused. "Sure. Where?"

"Oh, no where important."

She frowned. Usually she would be very annoyed, but it _was_ his birthday after all, and he had taken her to such a nice restaurant. She didn't want to ruin the peaceful atmosphere, so she calmed herself down. Then, quietly she asked, "Why are we here? I know it's your birthday, but still."

Ko smiled. "Well, I had something to tell you. But I changed my mind."

She glared at him. "What was it?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Oi, tell me!"

Some people looked at them. Aoba quieted down immediately.

"Basically, I had a dream last night."

"So?"

"Wakaba was in it."

Aoba's gaze lowered. "Oh."

"She told me that today she would get her final gift."

Aoba clutched the napkin in her lap, remembering what said gift was. "What did you say?"

He smiled. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

She frowned and crossed her arms. "Why not just tell me now?"

"Because our food is here."

She grunted, but one look at the steak being placed in front of her calmed her down immediately. Her question was soon forgotten as the two began to chow down.

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After a long drive, Ko woke the sleeping girl sitting next to him. He knew she was used to going to sleep at eleven, and it was already 11:30.

Shaking her shoulder, he said, "Aoba, we're here."

She slowly opened her eyes. "Where's _here_?"

He smiled. "Come on, I'll show you." He got out and walked around the car to open her car door. Reaching a hand in, he took hers and helped her to her feet. Chuckling, he said, "You need to wake up. You can barely stand."

She grunted at him and let herself be lead through a giant archway onto a grassy field.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Why don't you see for yourself?"

She rubbed her eyes then looked all around her. "Is this… Koshien?"

"Yup." Ko put his hands in his pocket. He walked further into the stadium until they reached the outfield, standing exactly where Center would stand in a real game. "You asked me earlier how I responded to Wakaba's question."

This caught Aoba's attention. "How did you?" she asked, staring on front of them.

"I said okay." Ko watched his girlfriend turn to look at him. He saw sadness on her face, as well as surprise.

"Do you still love her?" she whispered.

"Yeah," he answered. She looked down. "But so do you and your dad and your sisters and Akaishi. We'll always love her."

Aoba looked up at him. "I know. But she always loved you the most."

Ko shook his head. "She loved you _at least_ as much as me. And she wants you to be happy, you know. She told me so, in my dream." He pulled both hands from his pocket at knelt down, her eyes following him. "Aoba," he said. "I love you more than _anyone._ And I want you to be happy. I want to _make_ you happy." He reached his hands up, a small box in one hand. He used the other to open it, revealing a shiny diamond ring. "Aoba, will you marry me?"

Aoba raised her hands to her face, covering her mouth as tears fell from her eyes. "Is this what Wakaba asked?"

"Yes, but it's what _I_ wanted."

Aoba wiped the tears off her face. She smiled. "In that case, yes, I'll marry you, you idiot."

Ko laughed and stood up, removing the ring from the box to put it on her fourth finger.

There was no need for words. These two had always understood each other, and they always would.

But even so, as they looked into each other's eyes, Ko whispered, "Will you say it for me?"

Aoba frowned, blushing, and turned away. 'Why should I?" she questioned, embarrassed.

Ko took her hand, and she looked at him. "Fine." She stepped toward him and stood on her tippy-toes and spoke, "I love you, too, Ko." Then Ko smiled and leaned forward as well, and their lips met.

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So? Any good?

Please REVIEW!


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